STORY: Here are five business stories making headlines in sub-Saharan Africa this week.

1. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has lauded Ford's 100-year history of assembling vehicles in South Africa.

Yellen was visiting the country this week as part of a diplomatic charm offensive aimed at deepening U.S. economic ties and countering China.

“Africa will shape the future of the global economy."

2. Yellen was earlier in Zambia at the same time as International Monetary Fund Chief Kristalina Georgieva.

Both have been frustrated at delays in securing debt relief for Zambia, which defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2020.

Georgieva said the IMF has reached an agreement in principle with China, Zambia's biggest bilateral creditor, about a debt restructuring strategy.

3. Police blocked Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye from attending a discussion on the risks of the country's oil ambitions on Tuesday (January 24).

"There is no doubt that countries that have exploited oil when their governance is poor, that oil has become a curse."

It was the same day that, Uganda commissioned the first of four oil rigs as it aims for its first output in 2025.

4. Prosus and its South African parent Naspers are cutting up to 30% of jobs at their corporate offices, the Dutch technology investor said on Wednesday (January 25).

The companies, whose largest offices are in Johannesburg and Amsterdam, are the latest major technology-based firms to make layoffs, after Google parent Alphabet announced big cuts last week.

5. And finally, Nigeria's central bank on Thursday (January 26) launched a domestic card scheme to rival the likes of Mastercard and Visa.

The move is aimed at enhancing its drive to make Africa's biggest economy a cashless society and save the country foreign transaction fees.